Cuomo admin says de Blasio 'can't manage' homelessness problem

Because Mayor Bill de Blasio "can't manage the homeless crisis" in New York City, Gov. Andrew Cuomo plans to "step in," and will unveil a new plan to address homelessness during his state of the state address in early January, his office said Wednesday.

“Yes, it's clear that the Mayor can't manage the homeless crisis and the State does intend to step in ‎with both management expertise and resources in a plan to be released in the State of the State," Cuomo spokeswoman Dani Lever said in a statement Wednesday.

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Lever declined to offer more details on the plan, such as whether it will include new spending on homelessness or what exactly “management expertise” means.

The state already provides about $825 million a year in services for the city’s homeless, Lever noted.

The statement provides the first, if vague, indication of how Cuomo plans to respond to de Blasio’s calls for increased state homelessness funding. It is also the latest salvo in two days of open fighting between the state’s two most prominent Democrats over homelessness.

In a television interview on Good Day New York earlier Wednesday, de Blasio called on the governor to pony up more funding for the homelessness problem.

“I think it’s time for the governor to step up,” the mayor told Good Day New York host Rosanna Scotto.

A week ago, de Blasio appeared with a group of bipartisan lawmakers to announce a $2.6 billion plan to create 15,000 new supportive housing units over 15 years, without using state money.

“The City of New York stepped up and said we will make this a priority. We need to hear from the state of New York. Yes, money matters,” de Blasio said.

“And mayors and governors, you have had to work together, and often have had agreements and often have had disagreements – this is nothing new,” the mayor said of his hostile-seeming relationship with Cuomo.

“We’ve seen plenty of times when Albany did not serve New York City. Silence about that doesn’t get us anywhere. The only way to get things done for New York City is to call it out when the people of New York City are not being treated fairly. It’s the only way to get results,” de Blasio said in the television interview Wednesday.

"Homeless aid cuts by the State in 2011 resulted in a steady increase in the number of homeless in shelters and on the streets," de Blasio spokeswoman Karen Hinton said in a statement Wednesday. "The City cannot wait any longer for the State to restore the cuts. We are tackling this problem now and aggressively with a $1 billion plan to prevent homelessness and move people out of shelter and into permanent homes, and another $2.6 billion for supportive housing for those with mental health or addiction issues. The City is moving forward and welcomes support from the State‎."

A day earlier, during a joint appearance in Brooklyn, Cuomo and oft-rumored potential de Blasio primary challenger Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries took shots at de Blasio’s administration for its handling of the homelessness problem, saying that more money wasn’t necessarily the answer.

“To me, it's not just the money,” Cuomo said Tuesday. “It's more managing the city properly, efficiently, effectively, smartly, especially on this issue that causes so much pain to people.”

And Jeffries seized on remarks made last week by NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton, who said the city under de Blasio had been slow to recognize the growth in the city’s homeless population. De Blasio has said twice in the days since Bratton’s comments that he believes the biggest mistake of his mayoralty so far has been his inability to quickly communicate to the public what actions his administration has taken to address the homelessness problem.

“It took longer than it needed to for the mayor and City Hall to acknowledge the problem,” Jeffries said. “So there clearly was a leadership breakdown.”